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Divock Origi
Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian international footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool. Liverpool career In the summer of 2014, Liverpool were continually reported to have interest in Belgium's young star Divock Origi, who attracted international attention for his displays during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Despite much interest from England and abroad, Liverpool were believed to be Origi's preferred destination. It was later on reported that the Reds had agreed a fee for the striker. On 29 July 2014, it was announced that Origi had signed for Liverpool for a reported fee of £10,000,000. The deal meant that the Belgian was to be sent back out on loan to his former club, Lille, for the 2014-15 season. Despite not linking up with the club for the season, Origi still spoke of his pride and happiness at joining the team, saying "I am very proud to sign for the club. I'll give everything for the club, like I did when I was small and did for Lille. I'm hoping we can achieve great things together." He also took praise from the manager Brendan Rodgers, who was happy to complete the deal for "one of the most exciting talents in world football," saying that "You see a lot of good players, but this kid- for 19 years of age- he burst onto the scene at the World Cup, but we'd tracked him before that, we'd seen him as a young player playing in the youth internationals. He has everything to be world class." On 14 July 2015, Origi finally made his debut for the club, coming on as a substitute in a 4-0 win over the Thailand Premier League XI. Origi opened his Liverpool account in this game, heading in from a Jordan Henderson corner. He had also hit the post from long range earlier in the game. He made his Liverpool debut on 12 September 2015, coming on as a substitute with 15 minutes remaining against Manchester United at Old Trafford, but made little impact in a 3-1 defeat. Five days later, Origi made his first start for the club, starting away to Bordeaux. On 1 October 2015, Origi started at home to FC Sion, and assisted Adam Lallana after a brilliant run. This was the opening goal in a 1-1 draw. Due to injuries to Daniel Sturridge, Christian Benteke, and Danny Ings, Origi made his first Premier League start for the club at Tottenham on 17 October, in what was also new manager Jurgen Klopp's first game in charge. He made a lively start, and struck the crossbar from close range early on, but couldn't find the breakthrough, and the match ended 0-0. Five days later, Origi assisted Emre Can's equaliser in a 1-1 draw vs Rubin Kazan, heading down to him in the penalty area after a free kick was put in. Origi kept his place in the next game, at home to Southampton, but was a half time substitute after a poor performance, touching the ball just 13 times in 45 minutes. On 2 December 2015, Origi started in a League Cup quarter-final away to Southampton. The Belgian took home the match ball after netting a hattrick in a 6-1 win. The first had a slice of luck, with Alberto Moreno's shot deflecting off his foot to go in. The second was a stunning finish, belting it into the top of the near post from the edge of the area, and the third was a header from the centre of the area after a great cross from Brad Smith. On 13 December 2015, Origi netted his first League goal, with his long range shot heavily deflected into the net, to equalise in the last minute for a 2-2 draw with West Brom. On 26 December 2015, Origi started in a 1-0 win over Leicester, but picked up a hamstring injury, which ruled him out for over a month. On 9 February 2016, Origi made his return, coming on as a 60th minute substitute in a 2-1 defeat to West Ham. At the weekend, Origi again came off the bench and this time scored a goal, within 37 seconds of coming on. This was Liverpool's fourth in a 6-0 win at Aston Villa. Due to the return of Daniel Sturridge in the starting XI, Origi was mainly confined to the bench, but often appeared as a substitute. On 28 February 2016, Origi came off the bench in the 2016 League Cup Final, and majorly increased Liverpool's attacking threat, as the Reds quickly equalised through Philippe Coutinho, but eventually lost the match on penalties. On 7 April 2016, Origi was selected over Sturridge to start upfront away to Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. 36 minutes in, Origi opened the scoring, after controlling a header from James Milner very well, before coolly slotting it past the goalkeeper. The Belgian then had another big chance to open the scoring, but was denied well by Weidenfeller. The Reds drew 1-1, getting a very important away goal in preparation for the second leg. Three days later, Origi came on as a half time substitute, and netted twice in a 4-1 win over Stoke. The first was a close range header from a James Milner cross, and the second was really a cross for Daniel Sturridge, which evaded everyone and nestled in the bottom corner. Just four days later, Origi netted once again against Borussia Dortmund, this time with a cool finish from close range, after being sent one vs one by Emre Can. This was the Reds first goal, and made the score 2-1 to Dortmund, before Liverpool eventually won 4-3. On 20 April 2016, Origi appeared in his first Merseyside Derby, and opened the scoring after 43 minutes with a good header at the near post after a great cross from James Milner, grabbing his tenth goal of the season in a 4-0 win. In the second half however, Origi was the victim of a vicious challenge from Funes Mori, resulting in the centre-back being sent off, and Origi being stretchered off. The Belgian made his return as a substitute in the 2016 Europa League Final, but couldn't make any mark on the game, as the Reds lost 3-1 to Sevilla. Origi started the first two games of the 2016-17 season on the substitutes bench, coming on late in both a 4-3 win at Arsenal and a 2-0 defeat at Burnley. On 23 August 2016 he made his first start of the season, and scored his first goal with a clever flick following a Sadio Mane cross. His next start also came in the cup, and he once again scored a goal- this time reminiscent of his second away to Southampton in the previous season, a powerful strike into the roof of the net to round off a 3-0 win at Derby. On 26 November 2016, Origi came on as an early substitute for an injured Philippe Coutinho against Sunderland. 75 minutes in, Origi scored the opening goal with a spectacular curling effort from the left wing, much to the relief of the supporters. Liverpool went on to win the game 2-0. Three days later, Origi again opened the scoring, this time with a much simpler finish in an eventual 2-0 win over Leeds. On 4 December 2016, Origi continued his goalscoring form, with a fantastic finish from a very tight angle to open the scoring in an eventual 4-3 defeat at Bournemouth. The Belgian did however come under some criticism for missing a couple of easy chances. The Belgian continued his great form onto the next game, scoring the equaliser in a 2-2 draw with West Ham. Three days later, Origi made his 50th appearance for the club, and scored for the fifth game running in a 3-0 win at Middlesbrough. After this however, Origi went on a barren goal scoring run, with just a single goal in the striker's next 17 games. On 1 April 2017, Origi finally ended his drought with a powerful effort from the edge of the box to net Liverpool's third in a 3-1 win over Everton. Four days later, Origi netted again, giving Liverpool a 2-1 lead in an eventual disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth. After a disappointing second season, and the introduction of Dominic Solanke from Chelsea, Origi fell down to Liverpool's fourth choice striker for the 2017-18 season. After a single substitute appearance in the clubs' opening five games of the season, Origi was sent out on loan to German side Wolfsburg on a season-long loan, with the Germans paying a £6,000,000 loan fee. In the summer of 2018, it became increasingly clear that Origi's time at the club was up, making just a few fleeting appearances in pre-season, and reports linked him with a move away. Despite this, the Belgian remained at Liverpool come the end of the transfer window, and it was reported that Origi had rejected a move to Wolves in order to stay and fight for his place at the club. On 6 November 2018, Origi made his first Liverpool appearance in over a year, coming on as a late substitute in a 2-0 defeat away to Red Star Belgrade. On 2 December 2018, Origi came on as a substitute in the Merseyside Derby, making his first Premier League appearance of the season. With minutes remaining, the Belgian struck the crossbar from yards out, coming closest out of any player to breaking the deadlock. Six minutes into injury time however, Origi capitalised on a calamitous error from Jordan Pickford to head in the winning goal, and his third in total against Everton. This earned him a start in Liverpool's next game, a 3-1 win away to Burnley, in which Origi assisted James Milner's equaliser. On 7 January 2019, Origi scored the Reds' only goal in a 2-1 defeat to Wolves in the FA Cup, blasting home a powerful strike from the edge of the area with his weaker foot. Nearly two months later, Origi made just his third start of the season, and put in a great performance grabbing Liverpool's third in a 5-0 win over Watford. On 4 May 2019, Origi came on as a late substitute while drawing 2-2 away to Newcastle. In the 86th minute, the Belgian rose high to head home a winner for the Reds, earning them a vital three points to keep them in the title race. Three days later, he started upfront in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, having been beaten 3-0 in the first leg. Seven minutes in, Origi reacted quickest to a Jordan Henderson strike being saved, and was perfectly placed to tap the ball home and give the Reds a vital lead. With ten minutes remaining, Liverpool had levelled the tie on aggregate with Georginio Wijnaldum grabbing a double. Trent Alexander-Arnold took a quick corner, finding Origi in acres of space in the penalty area, and the Belgian placed it into the top corner to send his side into the Champions League final with a 4-3 aggregate victory. On 1 June 2019, Origi came on as a substitute early in the second half of the final, with the Reds 1-0 up through a Mohamed Salah penalty. With just minutes remaining, the Belgian sealed Liverpool’s sixth European Cup, firing into the bottom right corner. As a reward for his vital performances in the 2018-19 season, on 10 July 2019, Origi was handed a new long-term deal with the club. With the absence of Sadio Mane, Origi started on the opening day of the Premier League season. Liverpool beat Norwich 4-1, and he played a massive hand in the opening goal, as well as scoring one for himself. This was also the Belgian’s 100th appearance for the club. Origi continued to be a good rotational option for Liverpool, often filling in seamlessly in the absence of any of the front three. On 30 October 2019, Origi scored twice in an epic League Cup tie vs Arsenal, with the Reds coming from behind twice to achieve a 5-5 draw at Anfield, before coming out victorious in a shootout, with Origi netting his own penalty. On 4 December 2019, Origi started against Everton in the Merseyside Derby, and made a massive impact. Origi scored twice in a 5-2 win, with two exceptional finishes in the first-half. These strikes took him to five goals against the Blues, with only Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler having more in the Premier League. Honours Liverpool *UEFA Champions League: 1 (2019) *FIFA Club World Cup: 1 (2019) *UEFA Super Cup: 1 (2019) Individual *Standard Chartered Player of the Month: 1 (April 2016) Stats External links * Origi Origi